Rail wheel and axle assembly



Dec. 20, 1955 Filed April 25, 1952 E. T. LORIG ET AL RAIL WHEEL AND AXLE ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet l 102069260145; [OW/N 7. ZU/P/fi and Wax/4W1?! MUP5(f/,

Dec. 20, 1955 E. T. LORlG ET AL 2,727,780

RAIL WHEEL AND AXLE ASSEMBLY Filed April 25, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIEJL [men/toms: am/v T. LOP/6 .W/ W/AA/fi/W H. M05501,

United States Patent RAIL WHEEL AND ASSEMBLY Edwin T. Lorig and William H. Mursch, Pittsburgh, Pa.,

assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application April25, 1952, SerialNo. 2s4,3s0

4 Claims-.- (Cl. 295-36) This invention relates to a load carrying, assembly and more particularly to an assembly for carrying a load over a pair of spaced apart rails. Theloadin most instances will be a railway car, particularly high speed light weight cars. As a train travels along the tracks the car wheels tend to weave in and out. To keep the wheels on the tracks each Wheel is provided with a flange extending downwardly below the top of the rail on the inside thereof. In an attempt to prevent the flanges from striking the rail the treads of the wheels have been provided with a taper that extends downwardly towardthe opposite wheel. With the wheels now in present use the arrangement is such that there is a tendency for the planar action of the wheel to force the wheel outwardly from the center of the tracks. Planar action is that characteristic of a rotating body wherein each increment of mass of the body must be in a plane perpendicular to the axis ofrotation of the body. The taper of the tread tends to swing the wheel inwardly. These two forces continually fight each other, thus causing the weaving mentioned above. In passing around curves the centrifugal action of the truck and car weight tends to crowd the flange of the outside wheels hard against the rail. This increases the lateral deflection of the tire and its web still further in the wrong direction thus resulting in a high flange pressure against the rail head. It will be seen from the above that with the present equipment a very rough ride results, this being particularly detrimental when carrying passengers. In some instances the treads have been made without the taper in order to provide a smoother ride, but this results in much faster wear of the wheel.

It is an object of our invention to provied an assembly for carrying a load on a pair of spaced apart rails wherein the weaving eflect and wear of the wheels is greatly reduced.

This and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view through the load carrying assembly;

Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of a single plane of each of the wheels of Figure 1 in static position;

Figure 3 is a schematic plan view similar to Figure 2 but showing the position of the planes when the wheels are moving in the direction of the arrow;

Figure 4 is a view, similar to Figure 1, showing a second embodiment of our invention; and

Figure 5 is a view, similar to Figure 1, showing a third embodiment of our invention.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a pair of spaced apart rails on which is mounted the assembly of our invention. The assembly consists of an axle 4 on which are mounted identical wheels 6 and 8. Each of the wheels 6 and 8 consists of a hub 10, radial web 12, tread portion 14 and a flange 16. The webs 12 are sufiiciently flexible so that they can give slightly under load.

2,727,780 Patented Dec. 20, 1955 The tread 14 is preferably tapered downwardly toward the opposite rail. In" some instances the taper may be entirely eliminated. A load 18 is supported on the axle 4 adjacent the hubs 10 The load is preferablysupported as shown in full lines in Figure 1 but undersome circumstances it may be-suppor-ted on the opposite side of the hubs, as shown in dotted lines at 18'. i

The operation of the device is as followsr'when the car is not moving the wheels will assume-thepositibn shown in Figure 2. In this positionit will be-seen that each plane 20 of each wheel tilts inwardly at'the top toward the other wheel. In order to accomplish this it is necessary that the web 12' belocated' in a plane between the rails. By locating the load supports 18 between the hubs, as shown in full lines in Figure" 1 the axle4 will bend downwardly in the center. The deflectionsare caused by the forces produced by couples LR? and LR'. The couple arm A need not be as large as shown, but" the force L must be inside fbrce R. Whenthe car travels in the direction of the arrow of Figure 3- the planes 20, in addition to tilting in at their top, will alsotoe-in toward each other. The force couples CD cause the deflection shown in Figure 2' and this in combination with the rotation of the wheels results in the toeing-in action. Astlie wheels rotate they cause the temporarily bent shaft to rotate therewith so that it assumes the'position shownin Figure 3. This condition will be maintained'during all movement of the wheels over the rails. The force C is the bearing load onthe rail andextends upwardly. The force D is the bearing load on the webs 12 and extends downwardly. The tilting action of the wheels in both directions is greatly exaggerated for the purpose of illustration, it being understood that-a very slight amount of deflection or tilt such as a few-tho'usandths of'an inch is all that" is required. Because of this action= there is a tendency for the wheels at all times to move toward each other while rotating. This creates constant lateral inwardly opposed forces at the line of wheel contact with the rails, thus tending to center the load automatically between rails. This greatly diminishes the amount of weave and provides a much smoother ride.

Figure 4 shows another embodiment of my invention which is more suitable for use with a load carried outside of the hub. In this embodiment each wheel is mounted adjacent an end of axle 22. Each wheel consists of a hub 24, a radial web 26, a tread 28, flange 30 and an auxiliary web 32. The web 26 is fastened to the hub 24 and to the tread 28 in a plane between the rails. The auxiliary web 32 is shown as integral with the tread 28 and bears against the outer portions of the web 26. Clearance is provided between the remaining portions of the webs 26 and 32. A sleeve 34 is integral with the web 32 and surrounds the axle 22. The inside diameter of the sleeve 34 is greater than the diameter of the axle 22 so as to provide clearance therebetween. Each of the sleeves 34 has a peripheral internal recess 36 at its free end. An equalizer ring 38 is received in said recesses and extends between the sleeves. When there is a stepped joint between the sleeves 34 the equalizer ring 38 may be omitted. A seal 40 covers the joint between the sleeve 34, thus preventing infiltration of dirt and the like into the space between the axle 22 and sleeves 34. A load 42 is applied to the axle 22 on the outboard side of the hub 24. A clearance 44 is provided between the hub and the sleeve 34 so as to remove excessive shock from the web 26 when the wheel flange 30 contacts the rail head with consider able force in passing around a sharp curve. The functioning of this wheel and axle assembly is essentially the same as that of Figure 1. The equalizer ring 38 synchronizes the deflection of the webs 26 of both wheels on the axle proper direction to secure rapid centering of the wheel and axle assembly.

In Figure 5 a resilient 'wheel is substituted for the wheel of Figure 4. In this embodiment a wheel hub is mounted adjacent each end of axle 47. A pair of spaced apart webs 48 are fastened to the hub 46. Each of the webs 48 has a resilient web 50 fastened thereto. A web 52 corresponding to the web 26 of Figure 4 is fastened to the webs 50. A tread 54 having a flange 56 is fastened to the web 52. An ,auxiliary' web 58 is fastened to the tread 54 and has a sleeve 60 fastened thereto. Each of the-sleeves 60 has a peripheral-internal recess 62 at its free end for receiving an equalizer ring 64. A load 66 is applied to, the axle 47 at a point beyond thehub but adjacent thereto. The operation of-this wheel and axle assembly is the same as that of Figure 4.

While several embodiments of our invention have been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. An assembly for carrying a load on a pair of spaced apart rails comprising an axle extending transversely of the rails, a wheel mounted on each end of the axle, each of said wheels including a hub, a substantially straight web arranged in a radial plane, a tread, a flange, a connection between said tread and web and a connection between said hub and web, said web and flange being located between the rails, an auxiliary web fastened to each of said treads at a point between the associated radial web and the opposite wheel, a sleeve fastened to the inner end of said auxiliary web and surrounding said axle, said sleeveextending to a point adjacent the center of said axle, said sleeve having an internal diameter greater than the diameter of said axle throughout its length to provide clearance therebetween, and means adjacent each of said hubs for supporting said load.

2. An assembly for carrying a load on a pair of spaced apart rails comprising an axle extending transversely of the rails, a wheel mounted on each end of the axle, each of said wheels including a'hub, a substantially straight web arranged in a radial plane, a tread, a flange, a connection between said tread and web and a connection between said hub and web, said web and flange being located between the rails, said last named connection including a resilient web fastened to each side of the radial web of each wheel and means connecting the resilient webs of each wheel to its hub, an auxiliary web fastened to each of said treads at a point between the associated radial web and the opposite wheel, a sleeve fastened to the inner end of said auxiliary web and surrounding said axle, said sleeve extendingto a point adjacent the center of said axle, said sleeve having an internal diameter greater than the diameter of said axle throughout its length to provide clearance therebetween, and means adjacent each of said hubs on the outboard side thereof for supporting said load on said axle.

3. An assembly according to claim 1 in which each of said sleeves has a peripheral internal recess at its free end, and a ring in said recess extending between said sleeves. I

4. An assembly according to claim 1 having means for causing said sleeves to deflect in unison.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,333,527 Yates Mar. 9, 1920 1,952,043 Buckwalter Mar. 27, 1934 2,204,953 Wittmer June 18, 1940 2,239,077 Burton Apr. 22, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,953 Great Britain July 25, 1871 2,896 Great Britain Nov. 18, 1863 464,711 Canada Apr. 25, 1950 

